Types of tests in measurement and evaluation

TYPES OF TESTS
By
Dr. M.RAJENDRA NATH BABU
M.A(Soc),M.A, M.Sc(Maths), M.Sc(Psy), M.Ed, M.Phil, Ph.D, NET-JRF(U.G.C),PGDCA
Assistant Professor
DEPARTMENT OF TEACHER EDUCATION
NAGALAND UNIVERSITY
KOHIMA CAMPUS,MERIEMA,KOHIMA,
NAGALAND,INDIA-797004
mrnb.svu@gmail.com
09402207563, 09440858111
8/27/2017 mrnb.svu@gmail.com

 Test may be called as tool, a question, set of question, an
examination which use to measure a particular
characteristic of an individual or a group of individuals.
 It is some thing which provides information regarding
individual’s ability, knowledge, performance and
achievement.
 Tests are the tools, which measure the quality and quantity
of performance of the trainee.
MEANING

 A test is a systematic procedure for measuring an
individual’s behavior .It is a formal and systematic way of
gathering information about learners’ behavior, usually
through paper-and- pencil procedure .
 According to Barrow and McGee “A test is a specific tool
or procedure or a technique used to obtained response from
the students in order to gain information which provides
the basis to make judgment or evaluation regarding some
characteristics such as fitness,skill,knowledgeandvalues”.
MEANING

 The test is reliable
 The test is valid
 It is objective
 Must accomplish with norms
 Should not be expensive
 Less time consuming
 Must produce results and its implementation
 Its feasibility
 Must have educational values
NATURE OF TEST

 Various writers have given their classification of tests.
 The following classification gives only a broad idea of the extensive filed of
testing.
 CLASSIFICATION OF TESTS
 1. On the Basis of Questions
 A) Essay or Free Answer Type
 B) Objective Type
 1) Alternative Response Type
 2) Multiple Response Type
 3) Matching Type
 4) Completion Type
 5) Simple Recall Type
 C) Performance or Non-Verbal Type
 1) General
 2) Work Sample for Various Jobs
TYPES OF TESTS

 2. On the Basis of Administration
 A) Individual Vs. Group Tests
 B) Oral Vs. Written Tests
 C) Speed Vs. Power Tests
 3. On the Basis of Standardization
 A) Non- Standardization Tests
 B) Teacher made Objective Tests
 C) Standardization Tests
CLASSIFICATION OF TESTS

 4. On the Basis of Scoring
 A) Based on Qualitative Scoring
 B) Based on Stencil or Punch-board Scoring
 C) Based on Machine Computation
 5. On the Basis of Traits to be Measured
 A) Intelligence Tests
 B) Tests of Special Ability
 C) Achievement Tests
 D) Personality Tests and Adjustment Inventories

 A) Intelligence Tests
1) Verbal Vs. Non-Verbal
2) Individual Vs. Group
3) Speed Vs. Power Tests

 B) Tests of Special Ability
1) Artistic
2) Clerical
3) Linguistic
4) Mechanical
5) Musical
6) Sensory
7) Motor
8) Others

 C) Achievement Tests
1) General Vs. Survey
2) Diagnostic
3) Job-Selection Tests.

 D) Personality Tests and Adjustment Inventories
1) Personality Inventories
2) Interview
3) Projective Tests
4) Situational Tests
5) Interest Inventories
6) Attitude and Value Scales

 The classification of the tests may be made in term of
their purpose, that is, the types of psychological traits
that they describe and claim to measure, for example,
tests of general intelligence, tests of aptitudes, tests of
achievement etc.
 The tests may be non-standardized, teacher made or
standardized. Another classification is made on the
basis of types of responses which an item requires e.g.,
paper-pencil tests and performance tests. Let us discuss
these classifications in detail.

 1.Standardized test versus teacher made test:
 Standardized tests are those tests, which are validated
over a large sample.
 This sample acts as a norm group for various kinds of
variables you include in our study.
 The validity and reliability of these tests are established
with the help of various statistical measures. Such tests
also standardize content, procedure of test
administration, procedure of scoring and interpretation
for the users.

 2.Power tests versus speed tests:
 Power tests do not have time limits. The test taker is
given ample time to complete all the test items.
 It is he who decides when to hand over the answer
sheet to the examiner.
 On the other hand, speed tests specify time limits.
The test taker has to complete tasks within the
prescribed time limit.

 3.Group tests versus individual tests:
 The distinction between group tests and individual
tests is made on the basis of the way they are
administered on the students.
 When a test can be administered to a large number
of subjects, it is called a group test.
 Group tests are economical, easy to administer and
score.

 4.Paper-pencil tests versus performance tests:
 Paper-pencil tests require respondents to write the
answers to the questions by pulling a tick mark,
encircling or underlining one of alternative answers
given to a test item.
 Sometimes, the respondents are also asked to provide
the answers by writing a word, a phrase or a sentence.
 The common achievement tests developed and used by
teachers in schools and colleges are examples of the
paper-pencil tests.

 5.Verbal tests versus non-verbal tests:
 When the emphasis of a test is on reading, writing or speaking, it
is called a verbal test.
 In education, we find many verbal tests.
 The common example is achievement test used by a teacher.
 Non-verbal tests comprise numerals or drawings. Respondents
need to provide their answers by analyzing the drawings.
 Non-verbal tests are used in many entrance tests as part of the
non-verbal reasoning.
 Many intelligence tests like Raven's Progressive Matrices, use
nonverbal methods to test the intelligence of the respondents.

 6. Objective tests versus subjective tests:
 In the objective tests there is agreement among two or more evaluators
on the correctness of the answer. But when there is no agreement
between two evaluators on whether an item is correct or incorrect, the
test is a subjective one.
 Essay tests are subjective tests but multiple-choice tests; true-false tests,
etc. are objective tests.
 Tests also can be classified into different calegories based on the
psychological traits they measure.
 Tests of mental ability measure intelligence, tests of special abilities are
developed to measure attitude, aptitude.
 Similarly, there are tests of creativity, tests of achievement and tests of
personality.

 7.Norm-referenced tests and criterion-reference tests:
 Achievement
 Tests can be classified into norm-referenced tests and criterion-
referenced tests based on the method of interfering test results. In
norm-re fere need tests the results of the students are described in forms
of certain norms decided for a known group. Thus the performance of a
student is described in terms of the relative position he/she holds in a
participator group. For example, student 'X' has secured first position in
the class or student *Y" has stood first in the Central Board of Secondary
Education (CBSE) Examination.
 Diagnostic tests:
 Some students have consistent or recurring learning difficulties in spite
of the usual feedback provided by the teachers during the course of
instruction through formative tests.

 8. Projective versus Non-projective test of personality:
 Students' personality characteristics and adjustment problems can
be measured with the help of projective and non projective tests.
 Projective tests are used to assess students' personal-social
adjustment.
 Through these tests, students are provided a series of ambiguous
forms or pictures and asked to describe what they see in the forms
of pictures. From their description, we analyse what they have
projected onto the forms or the pictures.
 Roschach Inkblot Test and Thematic Apperception Test are
examples of projective tests.

 8. Projective versus Non-projective test of personality:
 Non-projective tests include problem checklists and personality
inventories.
 Problem checklists consist of a list of problems which students face in
these lines and they are asked to choose the problems which concern
them the most.
 The problems may be related to their study, family, heath, friends,
school, etc.
 For example, 'I do not pronounce certain words correctly', 'I cannot get
along well with my classmates'. Personality inventions are similar to
problem checklists but they contain a series of questions to which
students are expected to answer by circling 'yes' or 'no' or '?' for
uncertain. The questions are asked in the areas of health, socio-
emotional adjustment, self-confidence, socio-ability, etc.

 There are seven types of test.
1) Diagnostic Test
2) Proficiency Test
3) Achievement Test
4) Aptitude Test
5) Placement Test
6) Personality Test
7) Intelligence Test
TYPES OF TESTS

1) Diagnostic Test: Diagnostic test measures the
knowledge and skills of student. It is used to
identify students’ strengths and weaknesses in
past and present learning.
2) Proficiency Test: Proficiency tests are designed
to measure people’s ability in a language whether
they have any training in that language or not.
TYPES OF TESTS

3) Achievement Test: Achievement tests are designed to
measure a student's performance in specific academic areas
such as reading, comprehension, written or oral expression,
and mathematical computations.
4) Aptitude Test: Aptitude tests are mainly made to
assess intelligence and knowledge. Aptitude tests most
commonly consist of numerical reasoning, verbal
reasoning, speed, accuracy abilities, and more.
TYPES OF TESTS

5) Placement Test: Placement tests are planned to
provide information which will help to place students
at the stage of the teaching program most appropriate
to their abilities.
6) Personality Test: This test is designed for assessing
some aspects of an individual’s personality.
7) Intelligence Test: Intelligence test measures the
mental ability of an individual.
TYPES OF TESTS

Dr. M.RAJENDRA NATH BABU
M.A(Soc),M.A, M.Sc(Maths), M.Sc(psy), M.Ed, M.Phil, Ph.D,
NET-JRF(UGC),PGDCA
Assistant Professor
Department of Teacher Education
Nagaland University
Kohima Campus,Meriema,
Nagaland-797004
mrnb.svu@gmail.com
mrajendranathbabu@gmail.com

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